Bottle cap



W. L. SMITH.

BOTTLE CAP. APPLICATION men MAY 23. 1921.

1,402,454, Patented Jan. 3, 1922,

' VIJIIIIIIII, r lll ll l .13

WILBERT L. SMITH, OF SYBIACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNQR TO THE SMITH-LEE GOLJIPANY, SF ONEIDA, NEW YORK, A FARTNERQHTF CGMEOSED 0F "WIL- BERT L. SMITH, HURLB'U'T N. SMITH, AND THE ESTATE OF M. C. SMITH.

BOTTLE CAT.

Application filed may 23,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILBERT L. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Syracuse, county of Onondaga, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle Caps, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in closures for bottles and jars of the type illus trated in U. s. Patent No. 934,832 granted to C. G. Parker Sept. 1, 1909. Such closures are commonly termed bottle caps and are principally used for sealing milk bottles. In the manufacture and use of caps such as shown in the said patent it has been found that the lifting tab is liable to tear oil when I extracting the'cap from the bottle unless the cap is made of tough and rather expensive material. This is caused in part by the fact that the staple perforates the tab in two places and thereby weakens it and in part by the fact that the ends of the U-shaped cut which surrounds the tab'are unprotected and form places where the tab readily starts to tear ofi, especially when strain is exerted more on one side of the tab than on the other, as is quite customary in carelessly attempting to remove the cap.

The present improvement consists in ap-- plying a staple which completely bridges'the base end of the tongue or tab, the ends of the staple being anchored in the body of the cap outside of the cut which outlines the tab. The effect of this improvement is that the tendency of the tab to tear at the extremities of the cut is obviated and the tab is not weakened by perforations. The preferred form of staple is constructed of round wire which does not tend to cut the tab under ordinary usage. The maximum strength of the tab is thus available for pulling purposes. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a plan view ofa cap embodyingthe improvements;

Figure 2 is asectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1 showing the cap in the mouth of a bottle with the tab raised in position to pull the cap;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1, and

but showing a modification.

Referring to the drawing, 10 indicates the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 3, 1322,.

1921. Serial life. 171,373.

cap'or closure, which is usually a disc and preferably made from a single thickness of paper board or pulp board. The tab 11 may be formed by cutting partially through the body of the cap along the outline of the tab and slitting under the tab as described in the said patent. In the manufacture of the caps the tab is slit from the body of the cap and again pressed into the recess, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the caps can be compactly assembled in tubes for shipping purposes. To facilitate raising the tab to extract the cap from the bottle a slight recess 12 is pressed in the cap adjacent the free end of of a staple having its ends 14 extending through the body of the cap outside of the margin of the tab and clinched on the underside as shown in Figure 3. The bar 13 may be otherwise secured at its ends to the body of the cap in any convenient manner.

In Figure 4 T have shown the staple reversed, the bar 13 being underneath and the clinched ends 14 being extended along the hinge of the tab until they meet or nearly meet. This form of the lnvention accomplishes the same purposes as that shown in the preceding figures, although the form shown in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, is preferred.

It will be obvious that the reinforcing bar 13 and the elongated tangs 14 provide a hinge-bearing atthe base of the tab across the entire width of the tab and that they prevent the tab from tearing at the ends of the slit and also avoid weakening of the tab by perforating it, which is one of the difiiculties experienced with the tab shown and described in the patent above referred to. The use of this tab reinforcing device so strengthens the tab that a cheaper grade of paper board may be used in the manufacture of the caps or, when the same grade of paper is used, it results in the production of a superior cap.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Fatent is:

1. A bottle cap having a lifting tab which is formed by horizontal splitting and raising of a portion of the same, in combination with a reinforcing bar extending along the hinge edge of the tab and secured to the body of the cap at its ends outside of the tab.

2. A bottle cap having a lifting tab which is formed by horizontal splitting and raising of a portion of the same, one edge forming a hinge, in combination with a Wire staple extending along the hinge edge of the tab and having its ends extending through the body of the cap outside of the tab and clinched under the cap.

3. A bottle cap consisting of a single thickness of paper board having a lifting tab formed by splitting and raising a portion of the same, in combination With a reinforce for the hinge of the tab comprising a staple extending along the base of the tab and anchored to the body of the cap outside of the margin of the tab.

4:. A bottle cap consisting of a single thickness of paper board having a lifting tab formed by splitting and raising a portion of the same, in combination with a staple longer than the Width of the tab and passing through the body of the cap adjacent and outside the ends of the hinge portion of the tab to prevent the tab from tearing at the hinge.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

WILBERT L. SMITH. 

